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Coalgate: Fresh case against Delhi firm
Govt: Multi-agency probe against chit fund firms on
No question of death penalty to marines, India tells Italy
Italian marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone. File photo |
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26/11: Defence lawyer fails to appear in court
Delhi’s
shame
Akhilesh’s decision to cancel Harvard lecture kicks
up storm in UP Akhilesh Yadav
Train stops for pregnant woman, then
derails
Lalu: Nitish’s opposition to Modi an eyewash
Maya checked twice by EC squad; fumes
India offers help to Pakistan in treating Sarabjit
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Coalgate: Fresh case against Delhi firm
New Delhi, April 27 In the fresh FIR, names of two directors of the company -- Atul Jain and Sanjay Jain -- were also mentioned. Raids were also conducted on residential premises of the directors of the company. With the registration of the fresh case today, total 11 cases have been registered in the allotment of coal blocks scam. The raids were conducted following the registration of a case under Sections 120 B IPC (punishment of criminal conspiracy), 420 IPC (cheating) and Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with the allegations related to getting Brahmapuri coal blocks allocated on the basis of misrepresentations and false claims in the applications, presentations and connivance of officials of the ministry concerned and private persons, the CBI said. The investigating agency alleged that Pushp Steels and Mining Private Limited was recommended the allocation of Brahmapuri Coal Block by the Screening Committee of the Ministry concerned for its proposed Sponge Iron End Use Project in Durg district of Chhattisgarh. The allocation of the coal block was done on the basis of false information that it had an iron ore mining lease while it had none. The searches were conducted at Ajmeri Gate and Punjabi Bagh in Delhi, Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Faridabad and Narwana in Haryana and Raipur in Chattisgarh. These places included the office and factory premises of the company; residential premises of its directors and the office premises of its sister concerns. Certain incriminating documents recovered during searches pertaining to the allocation of the coal block, including the computer hard disks are presently under scrutiny, the CBI said. CBI sources claimed that it was stated in the FIR that the company got mining lease on the basis of recommendation from the Chhattisgarh Government despite having no experience and lacking enough capital required for starting mining operations.
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Govt: Multi-agency probe against chit fund firms on
New Delhi, April 27 The government today said the entities suspected to be engaged in raising deposits in an illegal manner are being probed against by SEBI, the RBI and the Corporate Affairs Ministry among others. A multi-agency crackdown was underway on entities offering Ponzi schemes, it
said. A Finance Ministry statement said SEBI had initiated action against several companies that were suspected to have violated one or more of its regulations. In over 59 cases in the eastern region, the agency has initiated prosecution in matters related to collective investment schemes
(CIS). "Media reports over the past few days have highlighted concerns regarding alleged illegal raising of deposits, especially in rural and semi-urban areas, in eastern India and duping of gullible public. Promoters of such companies are siphoning off collected money using a sales network comprising local persons who are offered hefty commissions, in a manner similar to Ponzi schemes," it
said. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has ordered inspection of the books of accounts and other records in respect of 31 companies. In some cases, the ministry ordered investigation by Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in July and November 2012. In case of 42 companies, the Registrar of Companies, West Bengal, has issued notices calling for information and explanation relating to collection of money by those
companies. The Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the Ministry of Finance wrote to the Chief Secretaries of all state governments in July 2012 asking them to strengthen the coordination mechanism between their regulatory institutions like the Economic Offences Wing of their police departments and the central agencies like the RBI, SEBI, the Registrar of Companies, the Revenue Department and the Enforcement
Directorate. The RBI was also addressed in that regard in Feb 2013 and the matter was currently under examination by
it. The Income Tax Department has initiated an investigation against the Saradha group and the Enforcement Directorate has also registered a case of suspected money laundering against this Kolkata-based group and others.
Another suicide
Purulia (WB): A collection agent who had deposited his personal savings of about Rs 4 lakh with the scam-ridden chit fund company of the Saradha group committed suicide here in Purulia district on Saturday, the police said. Swapan Kumar Biswas, 36, was found hanging from the ceiling in his house at Balrampur, 50 km from Purulia town. — PTI
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No question of death penalty to marines, India tells Italy
New Delhi, April 27 Clarifying the latest Supreme Court order in the matter in which the apex court allowed NIA to probe the case against Italian marines, official sources said the order had been read out of context leading to misleading reports. Noting that the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation Act 2002 has not been invoked, official sources said, “In any case no question arises of death penalty being imposed in the circumstances of the case if the court was to return a verdict of guilty”. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has had consultations with Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and other senior legal officials, including the Attorney General, in the matter. The Supreme Court had yesterday allowed NIA to probe the case against the two Italian marines and asked the special court to conduct the trial on a day-to-day basis after the charge sheet is filed. Sources said it is clear from the latest order that the judgement of January 18 remains in operation and that the NIA has been designated by the Central government to investigate the matter pursuant to the January 18 judgement rather than the NIA Act. They added the FIR dated August 29 last year and registered in Kerala's Kollam will be the basis for the investigation. “It follows that the later FIR re-registered by the NIA under the NIA Act is redundant and for the present the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation Act 2002 has not been invoked,” they said. — PTI
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26/11: Defence lawyer fails to appear in court
Islamabad, April 27 Judge Chaudhry Habib-ur Rehman of the Rawalpindi-based court adjourned the case till May 4 on the basis of an application from Khwaja Haris Ahmed, the counsel for Lakhvi. Defence lawyers were to cross examine four private witnesses, including one who had identified an accused as the person who had bought inflatable boats that were used by the terrorists in the assault on Mumbai in November 2008. In his application, Ahmed informed the judge that he could not attend today’s proceedings because of a “domestic issue”, sources told PTI. The court accepted the application and adjourned the case till next Saturday. After the hearing, chief prosecutor Chaudhry Zulifqar Ali of the Federal Investigation Agency told PTI that the defence lawyers should have completed the cross-examination of the four witnesses at the last hearing on April 13. At the last hearing, one witness identified accused Shahid Jamil Riaz as the person who had bought the boats used by the terrorists. Another witness told the judge that he had sold the accused a Yamaha boat engine for Rs 1.6 lakh and yet another witness said he had sold the accused six pumps. The four witnesses also identified 10 men, including Amjad Khan and Atiqur Rehman, who were allegedly involved in planning and executing the Mumbai attacks. These 10 men were earlier declared “proclaimed offenders” or fugitives by the anti-terrorism court. One witness told the court that Amjad Khan had obtained from him a "port clearance certificate" for Al-Hussaini, a fishing boat used by the terrorists. Khan is a shadowy Lashkar-e-Taiba organiser and financier from Karachi who figured in a majority of dossiers provided to Pakistan by India. — PTI
Hearing now on May 4
Lawyer of the main accused, LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, did not attend the
hearing Court was informed that he could not attend the proceedings because of a “domestic
issue” Judge Chaudhry Habib-ur Rehman of the Rawalpindi-based court adjourned the case till May
4.
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shame Weapons used in December 16 gang rape were shown to us, says doc
New Delhi, April 27 The statement was made by the witness during his cross-examination by the counsel for accused Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta who had alleged the weapons were never shown to the doctors attending to the 23-year-old victim. The girl, who was allegedly gang-raped by Vinay, Akshay and Pawan along with three others on a moving bus here, died in a Singapore hospital on December 29, last year. The doctor, who had performed surgery on the victim, also refuted the allegation that he was deposing falsely and said the weapons (iron rods) used to commit the crime were shown to the doctors attending to the girl. "Looking at the nature of injuries suffered by the victim in her private parts, in my opinion (they) can be caused by the weapons produced," he told Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna who is hearing the case on a day-to-day basis. The proceedings were marred by a heated exchange of words between Special Public Prosecutor Dayan Krishnan and defence counsel Vivek Sharma, after Sharma accused Krishnan of tutoring the witness. Krishnan vehemently objected to the accusation, saying "they can't accuse me of tutoring if they don't know how to ask questions". The doctor, however, clarified that in his opinion given to the police "I had stated that the weapons produced before us could cause the said injuries. I had not stated anywhere that the injuries were caused by these two weapons." The weapons were then produced in court and shown to the witness on the request of advocates Vivek Sharma and A P Singh, appearing for accused Pawan, Akshay and Vinay, as they wanted the doctor to identify the signatures on the rods. The witness, after examining the rods, said that one of the signatures could be that of one of the doctors who had attended to the victim. The witness also disagreed with the defence counsels' allegation that the doctors, attending to the victim, who signed an internal note had deliberately omitted to add the date and time below their signatures to help the police. "It is wrong to suggest that we had not put the date and time on the internal note deliberately to help the police," the witness said. On Friday, the defence counsel had alleged the victim had already died here in India and her body was shifted to the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore to avoid mob frenzy and agitation. This allegation had been refuted by the witnesses, doctors from Safdarjung Hospital, who had also denied the accusation that the victim died due to the negligence of the medical team. The court is at present conducting proceedings against four of the accused in the case in which it has recorded the statements of over 60 prosecution witnesses. With the proceedings against the main accused Ram Singh having been abated after his death on March 11, the remaining four adult accused Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay and Pawan are facing trial in the case for rape and murder of the girl. The sixth is a juvenile and is facing proceedings before the Juvenile Justice Board. — PTI Crucial evidence
The doctor told a fast-track court in New Delhi that the "nature of injuries" suffered by the victim could have been caused by the weapons that were shown to them by the police The statement was made by the witness during his cross-examination by the defence counsel The weapons were then produced in court and shown to the witness on the request of advocates Vivek Sharma and A P Singh, appearing for accused Pawan, Akshay and Vinay, as they wanted the doctor to identify the signatures on the rods The witness, after examining the rods, said one of the signatures could be that of one of the doctors who had attended to the victim.
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Akhilesh’s decision to cancel Harvard lecture kicks up storm in UP
Lucknow, April 27 Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhury has defended Akhilesh’s decision as a “mature step in keeping with the Samajwadi
philosophy”. However, state BJP president Laxmikant Bajpai launched a frontal attack on the Chief Minister for indulging in vote bank politics. Speaking to the media, Bajpai said it was not wise by any standard to waste the opportunity to showcase state’s achievement in organising a unique mega event like the Mahakumbh before such an august gathering at a prestigious university like
Harvard. In sharp contrast, Chaudhury said taking such a firm stand against misbehaviour with his senior minister, Akhilesh had sent a clear message to the US that he was not ready to compromise on national esteem at any
cost. “By opposing the discrimination against Khan on the basis of religion, the Chief Minister has proved that he is a true
Samajwadi. Many years ago, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia had been arrested in the US when he had protested against colour and race-based discrimination,” the SP spokesperson pointed
out. Underscoring the irony of the situation where a guest was insulted, Chaudhury said incidentally, Harvard University had conferred the recognition upon Uttar Pradesh for being a good host to millions of people from across the globe during the Mahakumbh earlier this year.
BJP state president Bajpai, however, charged Akhilesh of indulging in Muslim appeasement. He said the Chief Minister has taken the decision in support of Khan who did not care to visit Allahabad after the railway station stampede killing 37 devotees during the Mauni Amavasya Shahi Snan on February
10. Instead of rushing to the spot to supervise relief work, Khan had created another controversy by first resigning as the minister in charge of organising the Mahakumbh and then taking back his resignation, pointed out
Bajpai.
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Train stops for pregnant woman, then
derails
Kanpur, April 27 In the process, a coach of the Sampoorna Kranti Express, which was coming from Delhi, derailed. However, no injuries to any passenger was reported. Amit Malviya, PRO, Northern Central Railways, said the pregnant woman, sitting in S-10 coach of the train, had complained of labour pain last night and her husband subsequently informed the staff. A team of doctors was arranged at the Fafoond railway station after which the train was ordered to make an unscheduled stop, he said. The train driver was directed to put the train in loop line. In the process, the S-10 coach derailed from the tracks resulting in panic among the passengers. The pregnant woman was taken out safely and she delivered her baby in a district hospital. Both the mother and the baby are stable. The other passengers were shifted to various coaches of the train, which started running again without the derailed coach after two hours, he said. Rail traffic was stopped on the Delhi-Howrah up line. Normal traffic was restored on the down line after 2 AM, he said. — PTI
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Lalu: Nitish’s opposition to Modi an eyewash
Madhepura (Bihar), April 27 “Nitish, Modi and BJP are integrally one...Nitish is making fool of people by making public statements against Modi,” Prasad told a public meeting here. In a hard-hitting attack on the BJP, the RJD chief said it does not believe in any religion or faith. “They have only one aim how to capture power at the Centre,” he said. “They (BJP) are trying to create communal disharmony in the society by making ‘wild remarks’ against Pakistan”, he said adding people have realised the truth about them and the party cannot take them for a ride anymore. He said Nitish Kumar's claim of good law and order and development in Bihar was not true as reflected by the rise in cases of rape of minors in the state. — PTI
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Krishna’s outburst takes sheen off Sonia’s visit
Karwar, April 27 Sonia addressed two rallies in Karnataka, one at Chikmagalur and the second at Mangalore. Chikmagalur helped Indira Gandhi to return to the Lok Sabha after she was routed in Rae Bareili in the 1977 elections held after the Emergency. The significance of Mangalore lies in the fact that it has a strong Christian population and rabid Hindu-rightwing forces have been periodically creating trouble there.
Incidents in Mangalore dubbed by the media as “church attacks” and also incidents of moral policing by Hindu activists received nationwide media attention.
The thrust of Sonia’s speech at Mangalore was, expectedly, directed against the Hindu rightwing and indulgent attitude of the BJP allegedly displayed toward such elements.
“I am delighted by this lovely, beautiful and historic city which has given birth to several leaders, reformers and personalities. The region represents unity with its several beautiful temples, mosques and churches, but the sad part is over the past few years, social and communal harmony here has been disturbed. A few organisations have spoilt the name of Karnataka. They have no agenda other than to spread hatred,” she
said. Earlier, addressing a rally at Chikmagalur, Sonia said industries were leaving Karnataka because of corruption, government interference and infrastructure issues. “A stable government is need of the hour for Karnataka,” she said and added that the Congress would ensure that Karnataka thrived and
prospered. Oblivious to Sonia’s presence in the state, SM Krishna also chose this day to bare his heart before reporters in
Bangalore.
Clash of interest
Miffed Krishna lashed out at the Congress against the its selection process of the candidates at a press meet in
Bangalore Krishna, whose choice of candidates had been ignored by the Congress high command, also indicated that he would not be going to Mandya for
canvassing The thrust of Sonia's speech at Mangalore was directed against the Hindu rightwing and indulgent attitude of the BJP allegedly displayed toward such
elements At a rally at Chikmagalur, Sonia said, "A stable government is need of the hour for Karnataka."
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Maya checked twice by EC squad; fumes
Gulbarga (Karnataka), April 27 As soon as Mayawati’s helicopter landed at a helipad on the outskirts of Jewargi town in this district, a flying squad started conducting an inspection. They found Rs 1 lakh cash in her bag. The amount was not seized after she explained that it belonged to her supporters who accompanied her in the helicopter and that each person was “entitled” to carry Rs 50,000. Mayawati had come there for campaigning for the May 5 Assembly poll. Thereafter, as she was climbing the dais put up for her party’s public meeting in
Jewargi, the flying squad again searched Mayawati and her car, an action that infuriated the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister. She gave a piece of her mind in her campaign speech, wondering the need to search her again. — PTI
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India offers help to Pakistan in treating Sarabjit Moscow, April 27 “The best we can, we will. Right now, there is very little we can do in terms of medical intervention, unless Pakistan seeks any assistance in medical diagnosis," External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told reporters here. He said India would continue to push hard to bring Sarabjit Singh back using this incident as an additional ground for persuading Pakistan.“We would be willing to cooperate in any way should the Pakistan government need any assistance,” he said. The minister said the government had made efforts to get him back but “it is really difficult for us to go beyond a point on the issue of this nature”. — PTI
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Bhubaneswar
Tiruvallur
(TN) Rameswaram
Shirdi Lucknow
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Amid concerns by Italy on the possibility of death sentence being imposed on its two marines accused of killing Indian fishermen, India today said no question of death penalty arises.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s decision to cancel his lecture at Harvard University following the extraordinary questioning of his senior Cabinet colleague Mohammad Azam Khan by the security at the Boston airport has kicked up a political storm back
home. Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhury has defended Akhilesh’s decision as a “mature step in keeping with the Samajwadi
philosophy”.
